Chapter Six: Earning a Living

Was there a God of coffee, Pepper wondered as she tapped her foot, waiting for the elevator to arrive. After the morning she had had, she was impatient to get out for her lunch. Her wonderful little daily ritual was tauntingly close. Just an hour of sitting with Loki, eating her lunch, drinking good coffee and bitching about work while Loki complained about how boring his life had apparently become. Then after their mutual bitch fit he would tease her about-

The door to the elevator slid open with a ping.

Her crush on Captain America. Who was stood in the elevator right now and looking at her with an almost boyish and shy smile. All tall and blond and muscular and-Fuck!

"Hi Steve," she said, trying to sound as chipper as she could after doing all that damn paperwork while her heart began to pick up speed.

"Miss Potts," he replied as she stepped in. "Going down?" Oh I wish, she thought.

"Right down to the lobby," she said instead. "And I've told you, call me Pepper." His smile turned self conscious as he ducked his head while looking at her out of the corner of his eye in that adorable way he had.

"Sorry, Pepper," he said, his cheeks starting to tint pink. "Force of habit." The part of her that was apparently still a flailing teenage girl squealed with joy at the use of her name and she allowed herself to smile a little more widely before turning her eyes to the slowly decreasing floor number.

"Going anywhere interesting or just out for a walk?" she asked, mostly to fill the silence.

"Oh, erm. I was just going to take a look at an art store that Jarvis told me about." Art store? Seriously, was this guy even real?

"That sounds nice," she replied. And it did, a man with a hobby that couldn't kill him? It sounded like a dream come true. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking awkward for some reason as the floor number dipped into the twenties.

"Erm, Pepper?" he said after clearing his throat, having trouble meeting her eyes. "I was wondering, well, would you like, I mean would you?" His shoulders slumped a little and he let out a sigh before drawing himself up straight again and oh him going into full Captain America mode really should not have been this hot. "I was wondering if you would like to go for dinner or maybe to see a movie on Saturda-"

"Yes," she said entirely too quickly. Then she realised how that must have sounded and cleared her throat, sweeping a few strands of hair out of her face and added, "I mean, I'll need to check my schedule, but yes, I would very much like that." Her heart was beating so far that she thought it might burst out of her chest and a nervous goofy smile had spread across Steve's face.

"Great," he said, sounding breathless as the elevator came to a stop and the door slid open.

"I'll call you when I've looked in my diary," she told him, already knowing that if there was anything she would take a leaf out of her technically still bosses book and blow it off in favour of having a life. They stepped out of the elevator, Pepper only becoming aware of how wide the smile she was wearing was when she noticed the ache in her face. They stole glances at each other like a couple of high school kids on their way through the lobby, Pepper giddy enough to ignore her nerves and steal a quick hug that had Steve turning bright red before they went their separate ways.

Pepper's pace was quick and bouncy as she made her way to the cafe and she had to force herself not skip so she wouldn't end up breaking her ankle with the shoes she was wearing. She hadn't felt this ridiculously happy since she had been in her early twenties.

Still grinning, she pushed the door to the cafe open, sliding past some kid fiddling with their iPod then turned her eyes to the people seated at the tables. Her good mood faded slightly when she didn't spot Loki. He had only ever been late once and that was because of the incident with the DoomBots a few days ago. He was always here before her so he could grab the table for two by the window before the lunch rush. Except he wasn't sat at that table.

Instead there was a woman, a book held in one hand with the other resting on her thigh. Her legs were crossed and she was wearing leather trousers with knee high chunky boots and a green silk blouse. Her black hair was swept back, her features pointed and her skin pale. Actually, looking at her she looked a lot like Loki. She could easily pass for his sister. And wasn't that the book he had been reading yesterday, not to mention that was how Loki always sat and the clothes were definitely something she could see him wearing if the blouse was a shirt instead.

Then they looked up, straight at her, and smiled and God that smile was pure Loki. There was no mistaking it anywhere. "Are you planning on standing there all day my dear?" she asked, her accent and inflection exactly like the God of Mischief's and even the voice had some similarities. Pepper walked towards her, slightly unsure.

"Loki?" she asked, not sure what answer she wanted.

"Who else would I be?" she replied, the condescension in her tone all the evidence Pepper needed as she watch the hands with their long elegant and familiar yet utterly foreign at the same time fingers folding the edge of the cheap paperbacks page and closing the book.

"Oh I don't know," Pepper replied as she set her handbag on the floor by the table and pulled out her chair. "Some random woman I've never met before." Loki blinked in confusion before a look of dawning realisation spread across her (his?) face.

"Oh, had I not told you of my shape shifting?"

"No, you hadn't," she replied. Then after a pause she asked, "Why a woman?" Loki gave an elegant shrug.

"I was bored and I could." Pepper rolled her eyes at that. If the last couple of weeks had taught her anything about the mostly tight lipped God it was boredom was an excuse for almost anything in their eyes. Pepper still felt sorry for the woman who had made a bitchy comment about her shoes and ten minutes later had a hissing snake coiled in her cup instead of a cappuccino.

"Anyway," the God (Goddess? Or was God a title?) leaned forward, elbows on the table and fingers twining together as their smile turned slightly sly. "What could possibly have you skipping down the street like a love struck child on the eve of maidenhood?"

Natasha sat down with her coffee, watching the cafe across the street. She was relatively sure that she was sat in a position that would at least partly hide her and the fact that Loki and Pepper weren't looking for her was an advantage. She had managed to make sure she had a good view of the pair of them. Which was proving interesting if not incredibly educational.

For a start, apparently Loki could shape shift yet for some reason had chosen to only change their sex. Those boobs really could not be missed, even from across the street, but neither could the fact that it was still totally and completely Loki, just a slightly softer feminine version. The body language and perfect poise was absolutely unmistakable.

What was strange was the way the God relaxed in the CEO's presence. It was a slight and subtle shift, a minuscule drop of one shoulder that had them looking so much more open, but only to the person right in front of them. Natasha took a sip from her coffee and forced herself not to pull a face, wishing she was in the cafe she was watching instead, as Loki leaned forward in an almost conspiratorial manner. Oh God, Pepper and Loki working together, that was a horrifying thought. Natasha doubted there would be a force on Earth that could stop them.

Except apparently this wasn't working together and Pepper flushed bright red and started talking, obviously rushed and embarrassed but also very happy about something. If only she were close enough to lip read, but that was more Clint's forte than hers. Still, at least she could see the growing amusement, not just on Loki's face, but their entire body. Shoulders shaking slightly with repressed laughter before finally just letting it out. Pepper glared and kicked the God under the table but they didn't even notice. They just kept laughing.

It didn't look like the laugh she had seen in the footage of the fight with the DoomBots. This just looked like someone laughing at a friend. There was no mania, no madness, just mirth. It was strange, she hadn't thought Loki could laugh like that.

Pepper kicked them again, really putting her strength behind it and the God finally noticed, clamping a hand over their mouth and leaning down to rub at their leg, their shoulders still shaking. From the look of it, most of their hour together was spent either making fun of each other or complaining about things. All in all they looked like any pair of friends might. Loki even got up to give Pepper a quick hug and place a very formal looking kiss on her knuckles when the CEO got up to leave.

The God of Mischief's body language closed off the moment Pepper was out the door and they had sat back down. There was a distinct look but don't touch, mortals vibe that they were giving off as they picked their book back up and started reading again. Right about now Natasha started hoping that Loki would teleport wherever they were off to next or she would've wasted more time on this than she cared to think about and would have to put up with Fury's disappointed look and no one wanted to put up with that.

Two hours. Two hours the bastard just sat there reading, occasionally looking at their watch and stopping twice to buy more coffee. Natasha had long since switched onto diet coke by then, not being able to stomach the appalling coffee after getting used to fancy stuff that Tony bought. He had even taught her to use the barista machine that sat in the communal kitchen.

Finally the God got to their feet, casually disappeared the book and shrugged on the long leather jacket that had been stripped of its armour and draping a cream scarf around their neck before walking out of the cafe. Natasha followed. Loki was easy to trail, not even trying to be stealthy or discrete. Even as a woman Loki was tall. Supermodel tall, though most definitely had too much curve to be another clothes horse.

The God walked as though they owned the city, moving easily through the people that were going about their business. Staying unnoticed was easy until Loki turned down an alley way. That was when she needed to stay far enough behind that if the God turned to look she would be around a corner and keeping her footsteps light.

This was the nerve wracking part. It would be so easy to lose Loki in this maze of alleyways and she still wasn't familiar enough with the city for this to be easy. Unfortunately it seemed that Loki's repair work had given them an intimate knowledge of the place.

Each turn he got just a little further away and if he didn't reach his destination soon she was going to lose him. It was infuriating. The bastard knew he was being followed, she just knew it. This was too much like watching an artist at work for this to just be the way he moved. Then again, according to Thor, Loki was practically the original infiltrator with a few thousand years of practice under their belt.

One more corner and all she saw of the God was a swish of leather disappearing behind brick and Natasha ran. Her tread was cat like and silent, but she couldn't lose him now, not after she had spent the better part of an afternoon tracking him.

She held back a curse as she rounded the corner and Loki was nowhere in sight. How he had even managed to disappear in a long alley Natasha had no idea, though she sure as hell would like to know. She doubted he was hiding behind the pile of trash bags that had been staked against the wall. Maybe he had teleported after all.

The sound of shattering glass and a scream had her looking up just in time to watch in horror as a man fell at high speed towards the floor, the shards of glass surrounding him glittering in the orange light of the setting sun. He collided with the pile of trash and Natasha ran over to him, almost forgetting stealth. She could hear a fight above her but those noises came to an end as she reached the guy.

He was lying upside down on the bags as she reached out and placed her fingers to his throat to check his pulse. She found it easily, but the guy, scruffily dressed and weary faced, didn't stir. Not dead then, just out cold. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing considering why Fury wanted her to tail Loki in the first place.

Her eyes turned upwards, first spotting the fire escape on the outside of the building and then the broken window six floors up. Well, at least she knew how to get in.

Loki ignored the four thugs tied together with a chain that used to be a hideous rug that had deserved to be transformed, focusing instead on counting their ill gained coin. The copious amount of drugs that were in the squalid apartment he would leave for the city guards.

A smirk tilted Loki's lips and they turned to face the window. "I was wondering when you'd come to join me," she said, not even trying to keep the amusement out of her voice as the Black Widow stood, feet apart and arms crossed exactly as they had been on the hellicarrier. "Your dedication is impressive. I don't think I could have managed nearly four hours in that dreadful cafe when there was a far superior establishment just across the street." Her eyes narrowed by the tiniest fraction and Loki had to actively put effort into not laughing.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice flat and impassive and deadly. It was adorable, really.

"Earning a living my Lady Romanov," she said, using the handful notes to gesture. "Even a God needs to eat. Well, that and I do so enjoy irritating the King Pin." The only change was the slightest tilt of her head. Oh this could be fun. Was the Widow really trying to do this again while Loki had a perfectly clear mind? It would be interesting to see how they really matched up. She may not have had centuries of practise, but she was certainly a natural.

"So it is you that's been robbing the drug dealers and leaving them for the police." Again, her tone was flat and body language tightly controlled.

Fear. That was interesting. She was afraid and doing all the wrong things to hide it. Or maybe she was being purposefully misleading in a way she knew another expert would pick up. So she opened up her own body language just the tiniest fraction. Tilted her head a little and adding the tiniest slouch to try and seem smaller, less intimidating. Less dangerous.

With a small sigh and flashier than needed hand wave, Loki tucked away the money with her staff and the casket. "On Asgard their crimes would be by far more harshly punished. Was it Director Fury that sent you?" A single brisk nod, not even enough for someone of her considerable skills to work with. She was good at masking herself and he had already seen her skill at misdirection.

"And what sort of punishment would leading an invasion of another realm get you?" she asked. Oh this one was fun.

"Have you ever heard of the Blood Eagle?" she asked. The smallest quirk of her eyebrow was the only answer she received. Loki made sure her own features were schooled into passiveness. "It's a method of torture and execution. The ribs are cut beside the spine, then broken so that they resemble blood stained wings, then the lungs are pulled through the wounds in the back and salt is rubbed into the cuts." She allowed a small rueful smile as the blood drained from Natasha's face. Some things could not be hidden or controlled, though she did an admirable job of keeping the rest of her stoic. "Fortunately Asgard takes the extenuating circumstances of mind control and coercion very seriously."

"Sounds like you were almost lucky," the Black Widow said, her voice a perfect deadpan.

Loki couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.

"Almost lucky," she manage to gasp as she calmed herself down. "I like that, it could sum up so much of my existence." She cleared her throat and forced down the remains of amusement, ready to get down to business. "Oh, while you're here, there is something I've been meaning to do." The assassin's body tensed by the smallest of fractions, eyes narrowing slightly. More fear. Really, if Loki had wanted to kill her she would have been dead before Pepper had arrived for lunch. Well, might as well get this over and done with one way or the other.

Taking a deep breath to steal herself, Loki lowered herself to her knees and rested her arms on her thighs, palms facing up and head bowed.

"I have wronged you Natasha Romanov, Black Window." She made her tone carefully humble yet formal, this sort of apology had to be done right. Had to be perfect, even if it was rejected or if his idiot brother had only told Stark how to properly accept. "I threatened you in a manner unbecoming someone of my station. It was a personal insult that I should not have issued. I have wronged you and I offer my apologies and a gift should you accept it in order to repay this slight." Silence followed, like it always did. Loki swallowed as memories of a needle fought to take over. The wait had been long then. Not as long as he'd waited for Stark, but still long enough to let her know that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

Then the silence is filled with a low hum and the crackle of electricity and oh this was not going to be pleasant.

The punch was pathetic by the standards Loki was used to. She had encountered children that hit harder. Asgardian children, but still children. She lets her head whip to the side anyway so she doesn't break the assassins hand. It' not the punch that hurts. It's the bite of electricity. It ripples through her like venom. It doesn't last long, but that's a virtue of not being human. Their weapons rarely did anything substantial to someone like Loki.

Rubbing the side of her face, Loki looks up to Natasha with a wry smile, one the spy even returns while holding out her hand. Loki clasps the humans forearm while rising, but doesn't use the assistance to get up. She even catches sight of the strange weapon clasped onto her wrist, mostly hidden by the sleeve of her jacket.

"I must say, I'm surprised you accepted." The spy shrugged in response.

"I've been where you've been," she says, not meeting his eyes and it's obvious that the game is over. It's also obvious that she doesn't quite mean the Chitari. There is still a tightness to her body language, of control that she doesn't know how to let go of and perhaps that's what the fear really was. "I was there for longer, though maybe it wasn't quite as bad. But I get it. I know what it is to have to pull the trigger or die. And I know what having red in your ledger is like." Something twisted almost painfully in her chest and her smile turned a little sad.

"You do, don't you," she replied with a small sigh. She didn't allow it to linger long though. "Enough of this, I promised you a gift." Natasha cocked her head in question as Loki easily pulled out a box a couple of inches longer than the other woman's forearms and a little wider. She held it out to the assassin who took it without even a moment's hesitation. It took effort to not raise an eyebrow at that. The red head opened it with care, her eyes widening at the sight.

Loki knew what was in there. She had spent long enough crafting them. A pair of vambrace, black and none reflective with her symbol in a pleasing shade of red on the part that covered the back of her hands.

"They're beautiful," she said, the words coming out as a breath and filled with awe.

"They're deadly," Loki amended. "There are instructions on how to use them properly in the box as well. If you can't read my hand writing, get Thor to help. He may be an idiot, but he's not illiterate. I would also recommend that you don't use them in the field until you've mastered them. They have a lot more power than those little bracelets you're used to."

"Thank you," she said, turning her eyes back to Loki. They were honest, earnest and completely open. No misdirection, no mask. No lies. Just open gratitude.

It was strange to see and even stranger to see it directed at her. Oddly uncomfortable yet gratifying in a way that boarded on torture. Squashing down any body language that might let her discomfort be seen, Loki replied with a casual "You're welcome," then teleported away before Natasha could say anything else.

His tongue was sticking out as Jake tried to get onto that fucking platform. "Come on you fucker!" he yelled at the TV, tilting the Xbox controller and leaning to the side as he pressed the jump button frantically.

"A creature of class, as always, I see," said Loki, appearing on the arm of the couch.

"Shit!" The controller fell from his hands and scrabbled away, clutching at his chest as his heart beat to fast it felt like it was trying to rips itself out of his chest. "Fuck, Lokes, warn a-"

Faster than he could blink, Loki had his hand around his throat and a snarl on his lips. His eyes bulged as the God slowly backed him into the wall.

"Jake, what did I tell you about calling me that?" Loki said, their voice lighter, more feminine as he scrambled for his emergency Loki calmers in his pocket, his throat burning.

"Said you'd strangle-" He coughed. "Throttle me." His hand closed around the stick and he desperately pulled it out, holding it before him like a crucifix. Loki's eyes fixed on the lollypop with suspicion, their grip on his throat loosening a little. With an irritate huff of breath, the God let go and quickly snatched the offered sweet.

"It's insulting that you think me this easily placated," the God said, sounding slightly sulky as they pulled off the wrapper to the lollypop- and oh. That's what was different.

"Feeling feminine today then." Loki shot him a half hearted glare and popped the sweet into her mouth, using the stick to spin it around. As if watching that wasn't bad enough when they were a guy, it came damn close pornographic when they were a chick and the worst part was that they weren't even aware of it. "You look good by the way. You're hair's nice." Loki slid the lolly out of her mouth and looked at him with scepticism.

"Really, Jake?"

"Wow, you must be feeling like shit if flattery isn't doing anything." The God just rolled her eyes and waved her hand, summoning a wad of bank notes into the air and catching them with practised ease before tossing them to him. Jake caught them with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't think you'd be getting around to it that quickly." Loki shrugged. Then flinched and stumbled.

"How is that useful in any way?!" she snapped, glaring at the floor.

"The sight again?" Jake asked, slipping the money into his pocket. The God nodded.

"I can see the top of a building and the sky. Oh, and a pidgeon." Loki shook her head then sighed and slumped into the couch. "Wonderful."

"Do you want a drink or anything while you wait it out?" The God's only response was to shake their head and start sucking on the lollypop again. Great, there was a grumpy God on his couch. He hated when this happened, which granted wasn't often, but it always reminded him of when they had first met. "I finished that extra project you asked me to do," he blurted out before he could stop himself, wincing as he did. Damn side effects, he hated them. He hated them even more when he saw the God freeze, eyes wide but expression painfully blank. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Loki took the sweet from her mouth and sighed, squeezing her eyes shut.

"How many?" she asked, refusing to look at him. Oh fuck, Jake really didn't want to do this. Didn't want to say it. Loki was a dick to him, yes, but they had damn good reason and they did what no else could for him. They actually fucking helped.

"Six thousand eight hundred and forty three."

"What?" Loki said, sounding almost angry. Not exactly the reaction he was expecting. "That can't be right. They have to have killed more than that. Over eight million people live in New York City and the chitari couldn't even kill seven thousand." The God was on his feet now and fuck a lollypop wouldn't be enough to snap her out of this one. "I could kill more people than that on my own in an hour! What where they aiming at? The street signs?!" She sighed and dragged a hand over her face. "Do you have their names?" Jake nodded and scrambled over to his desk, pulling out the pen drive. He handed it over as Loki conjured up more money to hand over.

The anger had already faded as the God looked down to the little memory stick in their hand, something more like remorse settling in their eyes. Or perhaps regret, definitely a little sadness.

"I get it, you know," he said, watching the long elegant fingers close. "I know what that is like." A long pause and Loki didn't answer. Jake felt himself fidgeting, shifting his weight. He could practically feel another truth try and claw it's way up his throat as they stood. "I've started noticing blonds again," slipped out before he could stop it and Loki's eyes snapped up to meet his.

"How long?" she asked, her voice measured but tired.

"Just a couple of days," he replied with a shrug as his stomach churned. He hated this. Hated everything to do with this. Loki gestured for his hand and he complied without even thinking. The God took hold of his wrist, almost gentle, their eyes slipping closed as they focussed.

"You're not quite ready yet," Loki told him, her voice flat if not a little tired. "Three or four more days and I'll renew the spell." She turned her eyes to his face, something almost like concern there. "Can you last that long?" Jake shrugged.

"Do I have a choice?"

"That depends on if you can control yourself, I don't want you building up resistance to this too quickly." Fuck, he hated it when Loki actually let on that she cared. It was so much easier to cope if she was being a dick. "You know what the next step is after this," she added, her voice verging on soft.

"I think I can. I mean, it's only a few days." Loki gave a nod, letting go of his wrist. He watched the God, eyes drifting over her slowly. Her shoulders were slumped, her posture less stiff but no less proud. "You look tired," he said. More than that, Loki looked like the weight of the world was sat on her shoulders and had started to wear her down. "You want to stay here tonight? Save yourself a trip." A look of disgust spread across Loki's face before if falls away with a dramatic and irritated sigh and the God seems to deflate.

"It's probably for the best. I'll be gone by morning." With that, she dropped herself down onto the couch, slumping down yet still somehow managing to look graceful at the same time and closed her eyes. Even crossing her legs at the ankles as she spread them out.

"Mind if I keep playing?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"If I fall asleep now I doubt an invasion could rouse me," was the tired response he gained. Jake shrugged and picked up his controller. Twenty minutes later he was still stuck on the same bit that he had been before Loki had rudely interrupted and had been swearing for at least ten of those.

"Considering how much time you spend on that contraption," the God said from his side, one eye open. "You are terrible at these games."

"If you're so fucking perfect, why don't you try?!" he snapped, realising too late who he was talking to and how bad for his health those words could be. Loki let out a quiet chuckle and held her hand out for the controller.

And did it on their first try then handed the controller back with a wry smile and still only one eye open.

"You are an absolute dick."

A/N Thank you to Ordis, cara-tanaka, mrshultz,Hieiko, Moviemuncher, Trubie74, Kila and Francis Bonnifoy for reviewing the previous chapter.

Also, I've been getting a couple of people ask if this is a Pepper/Loki fic. I can see where that idea is coming from, but no. This is a Loki/Tony fic, it's just going to take a while to get there.

Thanks for reading and please review.